


Toni's Deep Dark Secret (That Everyone Knows)

by Ruolumen



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Everyone finds out eventually, F/M, Fluff, Gender or Sex Swap, Pregnancy, Toni tries to keep it a secret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:24:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1207648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruolumen/pseuds/Ruolumen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Antonia finds out she's pregnant, she decides to keep it a secret, so naturally everyone finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Toni's Deep Dark Secret (That Everyone Knows)

No one ever expected Nathaniel Romanoff and Antonia Stark to get together, especially not Nate and Toni themselves.

When the two met the first time Nate had been introduced as Nathan Rushman, and had worked for Toni as her PA for a short time, while gathering intel and making a personal file for Antonia and Iron Man, as she demanded her alter ego be called even after coming out to the world, in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. By the time the woman found out about it she was nearly dead, but still had it in her to feel betrayed.

That was why, even after they had worked together saving the world from Loki's alien brand of destruction, and the attempted destruction on the home front courtesy of the Council, everyone assumed the two would go back to being cold to each other. No one thought that once Toni invited Nate to live with them they would become the proverbial friends with benefits.

Never assume things.

 

Toni  
~Week 8~

It was difficult saying good-bye to Nate a few months later when SHIELD sent him off on a mission in an undisclosed location. She had had no idea it would be so hard to see him leave.

They had spent a lot of time together over the last few months, and Toni did not like having someone she had invested so much time with be forced to leave the way he was.

All things considered, she found holing herself up in her lab made dealing with everything easier. That is, until two months in, when she finally realized that something was wrong. In the two months since Nate had left, Toni had not had a single momentary visit from Mother Nature.

She had not even thought about it until, while working on her armor one day, JARVIS asked her a simple question:

"Madam, I wonder if you've flushed anything unsanitary in the last few weeks?" she heard him ask, while she welded her suit. The question almost made her pause, but then she laughed.

"Of course I have JARVIS," she answered her beloved AI, "or what do you call used toilet paper?"

"Unsanitary, Madam. However, I meant that problem you complain of for a few days each month."

Nate left two months ago. She had been down here ever since, barring those rare food stops, or the occasions she needed to sleep in her own bed, or when the world needed Iron Man. In all of that time, Toni could not think of a single time she had seen anything unusual when she used the bathroom.

Her heart dropped. It had been two months since her last period. She knew how it had happened too.

Normally they used protection in bed, but the night before Nate had left the condom had broken. Instead of worrying, they had decided to finish, as it was a special night and Nate had already come. Neither of them could have guessed he would come again.

After Nate had left the next day, Toni had gotten her "morning after" pill, and thought nothing of it. Until now.

With no idea of what else to do, Toni got Pepper to pick up and bring her a pregnancy test, swearing both her and Happy to secrecy as they picked it up.

Once they returned with the test, Toni immediately ran to the bathroom.

When it finally gave her the results, Toni screamed bloody murder. The test dropped to the floor as her back hit the wall, and she stared at it with terror in her eyes. She screamed again, this time in desperation, before she slumped to the floor.

As the stress caused Toni to pass out, the last thing she saw were the two lines on the little stick lying on the floor beside her.

It was positive.

 

Bruce  
~Week 9~

Bruce had a question for Toni, so he made his way to her lab the way he did every other time he wanted to talk to her or ask her something.

When he made it down and used his access code the first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. Toni was not here if deafening rock music was not playing.

“JARVIS, where is Toni?” he asked, having gotten used to the artificial intelligence built into the building and everything else Toni touched.

“She went to the kitchen for a snack and will be returning momentarily, Master Bruce. Should I ask her to bring you something?”

“No, thank you, JARVIS. I'll just wait.”

“Of course, sir.”

With that covered Bruce wandered the lab, content to just wait for Toni to return.

As he was looking around a strange stick half buried in the trash caught Bruce's eyes. When he dug it out of the trash, he looked at it for only a moment. He had never known a pregnant woman before, but he got the idea. Quickly he dropped it back into the trash. She had had to urinate on that... Bruce tried not to think about that, and decided it was a better idea to sit down and stop wandering the lab. Heaven knew what he could find next.

Toni chose that moment to walk back into her lab, and it took her no time to see Bruce on her couch. “JARVIS? What happened?” she asked, walking over to him to make sure he was still alive.

“It appears Dr. Banner fainted, Madam.”

“You don't say,” she mumbled, checking his pulse just to make sure. He had a pulse. “Is there any reason why?”

“It would seem Dr. Banner found your test.”

Toni paused, and then realized which test he could have found. “Shit.”

“Indeed, Madam.”

After a moment Toni's humor kicked in and she could not help but laugh despite how awkward the moment would become when Bruce woke up. “So I killed him? With a stick I peed on?” She turned her attention to her friend. “Really Bruce? The Hulk got taken down by little old me... You know, I feel like a bad ass mother fucker right now! Fury's got nothing on me!”

A few minutes after Toni's laughter died down Bruce came to. He sat up groggily and looked around. “Toni?” he asked, seeing her sitting at a desk a few feet away, studying some machinery.

“Yes?” she asked innocently, as if nothing had happened. “Did you enjoy your nap?”

“You're pregnant,” he stated, ignoring her question, trying to pretend he hadn't fainted.

“So I am,” she responded, looking back down, trying to brush it off.

He was having none of that. “Toni...” he said seriously, trying to make her focus.

“It's nothing Bruce, no worries. I'll just put it up for adoption.”

Bruce sat bolt upright. “You'll what?!” he snapped, than forced himself to calm down. “Is it Nate's?” he had to ask.

She nodded, but refused to comment on her adoption statement. At least she hadn't said abortion, right?

“Toni, he would want to love his child, I'm sure of it,” Bruce went on, trying to convince her she did not have to give her child away.

Then the truth came out. “I would not be a good parent,” Toni spoke, her voice suddenly quiet.

Bruce stood and made his way over to her. “Toni, you would be an amazing mother.”

“What if Nate doesn't want to be a father?” she countered, not even acknowledging his words.

“I think he would-”

“But what if?” Toni interrupted, and Bruce raised a hand to forestall any further potential flow of words.

“Let me finish,” he admonished gently. “I think he would. However, if he chooses to have nothing to do with you or his child I will help you in every way that I can. He would be making the worst decision of his life, but if that is what he chooses, I would be honored to stand by you both.”

Toni's eyes misted, but she still shook her head. “I can't, Bruce. After my dad... I would only fail this child.”

Shaking his head, Bruce pulled her close. “If I have learned one thing from you, Toni, it's that we do not have to be our parents. We can rise above.”

“You learned that... from me?”

Toni looked up at him, and it broke Bruce's heart to see her that way.

“From you,” he agreed, nodding. “From your strength, your passion to do what is right, and your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the good of everyone, especially the team. I doubt the same could be said of your father.”

Glancing down, Bruce waited for an interruption, insights, anything. Instead, Toni stared at him in rapt silence. It was rare for Toni to allow him to monologue, so Bruce took advantage of it.

“You taught me that we are who we make ourselves. Our actions define us. We are better than the fathers we despised, men with their own demons. You defeated yours and showed me, and everyone else, that we could do the same.”

She broke down in his arms, and Bruce hoped his words offered what she needed in some way, and did not make things worse. This woman was his best friend, and she deserved the best. She deserved to be unbroken. Nate would be a fool to let this woman go.

Bruce stood there and held Toni, his original reason for coming to her lab neglected and forgotten for something far more important.

 

Steve and Clint  
~Week 20~

"Damn Doom and his damn Doom-bots," Toni cursed over her comm as she blasted a bot to kingdom come.

"Everything okay up there, Iron Man?" Captain America asked in her ear.

"Hunky dory, Cap," she responded sarcastically. He just always had to worry didn't he?

Toni dodged some sort of beam from a wandering bot and returned fire, smirking as it blew up. While she was unsure what their blasts did, and was fairly sure she did not want to find out, Toni knew and loved what her own blasts did, as she took out a bot scaling a building to get near Clint.

He nodded his thanks and kept shooting, and so did she. They all kept shooting, fighting, smashing and taking out bots until Cap was sure there were none left. When he called the cease-fire Iron Man picked Hawkeye up from his rooftop perch and they landed with Thor.

Toni never removed her armor until they returned to the Tower, but she lifted her faceplate and took in the smiling faces around her. That was why, when JARVIS warned her there was something flying towards her she did not know where it was coming from until an explosion at her back sent her hurtling forward to skid across the ground, faceplate slamming shut from the impact.

Her suit cut out so her visual was gone, but from her position she could hear the Hulk roar loudly, his heavy footsteps coming towards her fast. The next thing she knew Hulk was lifting her up into his lap, ripping off her faceplate, and holding her protectively close to him.

She watched as Steve and Clint took down Doom, Thor having flown the device she had been hit with back to the lab for inspection later.

Once Doom had been disabled, Steve held him tightly while they made their way over to her.

Hulk roared when they got within twenty feet of her, and Steve and Clint both stopped. That was when Thor returned, oblivious to Hulk keeping anyone away from Toni.

Thor noticed the look on Steve's face, however, and when he asked what the problem was Steve asked him to take Doom in telling him he would be debriefed later. With a nod, Thor flew off again, this time straight towards SHIELD so they could deal with the villain of the week.

Once Thor was gone, Steve took a slow step closer to Toni and Hulk, but stopped when Hulk started growling at him.

"Hulk, Big Guy," Toni soothed, stroking his arm. "It's okay, they won't hurt me."

The large green face looked down at Toni and shook his head sternly, somehow pulling off looking concerned. "They no hurt Toni. They not know baby. Maybe hurt baby. Not okay."

Toni was amazed with how much he spoke, before his words broke through and she sighed, shaking her head. When she looked back up at Cap and Hawkeye she saw their eyes were wide.

"A baby, Toni?" Steve asked, concern written all over his face, focusing exactly where Toni did not want him to.

‘You would pick up on that, wouldn’t you, Boy Scout?’ Toni thought, trying not to panic.

"Really? A baby?" Clint asked, eyes lighting up, seeming a lot less concerned than Steve was.

Sighing, Toni knew she had no choice but to confess. "Yes, a baby. I'm pregnant."

"And you're still going into fights?" Steve demanded, horrified. However, while Steve was losing his composure, Clint ignored him in favor of going over to and crouching in front of Toni and Hulk. Hulk seemed okay with him so Clint tried to stare at her stomach through the suit.

Gesturing up at Hulk, Toni smiled at Steve. "Obviously I'm safe." Then she noticed Clint staring and laughed lightly. “And when did you get x-ray vision?”

Clint looked up at her and gave her a soft grin, eyes twinkling with glee.

Captain America sighed, but the fight seemed to be draining out of him and he smiled shortly after. "You know we are going to be watching you like... well, hawks from now on, right?" he asked, ignoring the grin Clint turned on him at his unintended pun.

Hulk's chest rumbled. Apparently once someone accepted that Toni had a baby and was still going to be okay with her being herself Hulk accepted them getting close, and Steve chuckled as he walked over and knelt before Toni and Hulk. "Tell us everything?" he asked, and Clint nodded, agreeing.

Toni nodded and prepared to tell them what she knew, but first she had a request. “Can we keep this from Thor for now? He's not really the best at keeping his mouth shut.”

She got affirmative answers and smiled, sharing what she knew with them.

 

Fury and Coulson  
~Week 33~

The fight against Magneto, which would typically be the problem of the X-Men but had been dropped at their feet when Professor Xavier nearly got taken out by a group of Magneto's men, had been harder than anyone had expected. They had taken him out after some time, however, once they got his helmet knocked off and Emma Frost showed up in the form of reinforcements.

Now they were back at SHIELD headquarters, sitting through a long and painful debrief, and Toni had stopped taking off the Iron Man armor when she was not at home.

Eventually Fury got around to Toni, and started to speak to her. "Antonia," he said, ignoring as Toni flinched at the name she hated, "I notice the team has been spending a lot of time watching over you."

A spark of anger flashed through Toni and she stared Fury down. "I do not have to be watched, guarded or protected! They are doing that of their own free will!"

"I am aware," Fury responded, being oddly understanding for once. "We knew something was off when Hulk held you protectively after your fight with Doom and I believe we have come to the correct conclusion."

For Fury to continue on as if nothing had happened did not sit well with Toni. She hated not knowing how much they knew. Having Director Fury say they had come to any conclusion, let alone what he believed to be the correct one, did not bode well.

When Fury turned to talk to Bruce, it was clear that the others were off in their own thoughts. Tony knew the problem with most debriefs for the Avengers was the attention span of everyone when they were not being addressed. Of course no one had heard what had happened.

When Toni thought about saying something to get their attention, and interrupting the debrief, Agent Coulson walked past and set a file in front of her. On top was a note, and Toni picked it up to read it. 

 

_We know about Nate and your child. Do not ask how, you will not get an answer,_

_but there are forms that need to be filled out. I have handled that for you at Fury's_

_behest. I would say you should remain out of battles, however I know you,_

_and unless you are in danger of losing the child you will not abandon your team. Good for you._

_-Coulson_

Toni stared at the note, and while she did want to ask how they had found out about the child, she knew that Fury, the spy whose secrets had secrets, would never reveal something of that manner.

Instead, she opened the files and sifted through them while Fury continued to talk to the rest of the team. Now she knew why he had moved on so quickly from talking to her.

When she looked up and saw Coulson glance in her direction a wave of emotion hit her. Shutting the folder quickly, Toni stood and ran out of the room before anyone was aware what had happened.

Fury wrapped up the meeting after that moment as he knew no one would stay after Toni ran out. Immediately half of the room ran out after her. Fury and Coulson shared a look before leaving in a different direction, knowing Toni would be back for the papers and to talk to them once everything settled down.

That left Thor as the only person in the room.

 

Thor  
~Week 33~

Thor looked around the now empty room, unsure as to what was happening. Toni had run out and the rest of the team had followed her, seeming to know something Thor did not.

The last thing he remembered before things had gotten out of hand was Toni looking at a file Coulson had handed her. Perhaps that held the answers?

Standing and pulling the folder towards him, Thor began to read through it. He stopped almost immediately when the words "SHIELD Operative Pregnancy Forms" caught his attention. Pregnancy? Toni was pregnant. How could he not have noticed? He had thought she was just filling out, Toni had always been too skinny in his opinion.

If what he was reading was correct though, then it was most worrying what his pregnant friend was doing after running off. Deciding that the best course of action was to catch up with his team he suddenly realized they must have already known, which was why everyone ran after her. This was most troubling indeed.

He found them not long after, in the Women's bathroom. While normally he would have had reservations about going in, the rest of the team was already in there, so he walked in and listened quietly to the conversation.

"Nate doesn't know, but they called him. He'll be home soon, once he can tie up the loose ends of his mission," Toni was saying. At least that was what he thought she said, the tears were making it hard to decipher. It seemed the others understood her though, for the others were trying to comfort her.

"What does he know?" Bruce asked, keeping his voice calm and soothing.

"The paperwork said... Coulson called him... told him to come home... as fast as possible," Toni told them while trying to control her sobs.

"He'll be so excited! We can have a welcome home slash baby shower slash you're going to be a daddy party!" Clint encouraged her, trying to lighten her mood.

“What if he isn't excited?” Toni shot back hysterically, her emotions rampaging with her panic. “What if he's mad? Or hates me for keeping this from him?!”

“You can't honestly believe he would hate you, Toni?” Steve asked. He knew only a slight bit more about the SHIELD operatives turned Avenger's than Toni did, but he did not believe Nate would abandon a woman he claimed to love and their child over something so petty. He would be disappointed maybe...

“Is that supposed to be helpful?!” Toni shot at him, and Steve only realized then that he had spoken his last thought aloud. “Is disappointed supposed to be better than angry?”

Clint tried to calm her down, placate her. “Toni, I know Nate, he would never leave you for this.”

It made things worse.

“He would only stay because he feels guilty? Is that it? He wouldn't have to love me to stay!” Her tears fell faster.

Steve opened his mouth to try to help more, but Bruce had had it. “Enough!” he shouted, and even Toni stopped sniffling at his command.

Turning his once again calm attention on Toni, Bruce held out his arms to her, much as he had done all those months ago in her lab, and Toni dove into them, clinging for dear life once again. “Toni,” he spoke softly, soothingly, “do you remember what I told you? No matter what Nate chooses, I will be there for you and your child. Now that everyone else knows, you will never be alone in this. You have us, your dysfunctional family of superheroes.”

“I'll be here for you, too, Toni,” Steve said, wrapping his arms around her gently, carefully in case she pushed him away. “No matter what.”

To show her support, Toni pulled Steve closer with one arm and waved Clint into the fold. “I know you already love the baby and me so get over here, Legolas,” she joked, cheering up already.

Thor watched them for a moment before making himself known. “Lady of Iron, I have just found out, and I am truly happy for you. If our friend Nathaniel cannot see the beauty in this, in you, he is a greater fool than any I have met before or expect to meet again. You have all of our blessings, and I believe you will have his as well.”

Toni looked up at him with a weak smile and waved him over. Thor walked over and joined the hug.

Once Toni's tears began to slow she pulled back from them all and graced them with a smile. “You are all the best friend's a girl could ask for.” Then she turned to Thor. “And Thor, be a dear and don’t tell anyone other than Jane what you just learned, okay? I don’t trust Darcy to keep such a secret for long. She may come to Nate's party as long as she doesn’t talk.”

“Yes!” Clint cheered when he received the Toni Stark seal of approval. As usual, the rest of the team ignored him. Which was totally okay with him, he had a party to plan.

It was Thor they were giving their attention to. Bowing his head, Thor agreed. “As my Lady wishes.”

Toni's smile was genuine.

 

Nate  
~Week 40~

The party started at noon, everyone was on time and eating and socializing. No one there knew when Nate was supposed to show up, and he was going to have to be debriefed before he was allowed to go home, but they knew it would be sometime during this special day.

So, while they waited, everyone partied, and enjoyed their time with friends.

It was a small gathering, consisting of the Avengers, Thor’s girlfriend, her assistant, and of course the ever capable Pepper Potts. Everyone was having fun. The food was good. There was excellent music. Steve even convinced everyone to play the game Pit, which was surprisingly fun even if Toni teased Steve about the game being older than he was. Thor and Jane enjoyed watching their friends unwind, but kept to themselves, enjoying each other’s presence as they had not seen each other in a while.

“So, may I ask you something my lovely Jane?” Thor asked when one line of conversation ended.

“Of course, honey, you can ask me anything.” Jane smiled at him.

"When did Nathaniel and Antonia make time to consummate a child?" he asked, actually bewildered by the thought.

Clearly it had been on his mind, but Jane could not help but blush at the bluntness of the question. “Well, sweetheart, you should probably talk to Toni about that. It really isn't my place to say."

Nodding, Thor seemed to accept that answer with grace and he called her over from the game. Jane having no problem with letting Toni handle herself, set herself up in the space Toni left.

Toni understood what was going on and knew where Jane was coming from so she causally led Thor over to a different part of the room to chat. “I understand your confusion Thor,” she said with a smirk, “you see, during the time you had a vacation being a couple, Nate and I were also busy being a couple.”

He grinned and nodded, happily thinking about his time with Jane. That must have been why he said what he did next. "I was pleased when I learned you had a child growing within you! Before when I knew nothing about your little one, I was just pleased that you were finally filling out! You were so thin before."

Toni could not believe her ears. He was dense, she could give him that, but... "Come again? You just said you thought I was getting fat?! And you thought I looked better that way?"

Blinking Thor realized he might have said the wrong thing. "I meant no offense," he began to apologize.

"Meant no offense?" she shouted, suddenly now more enraged than before. "I am offended! You dare tell a pregnant woman that she looks better fat?! What kind of a man says something like tha-"

That was when the door opened and Toni's distraction caused all of her anger and stress to evaporate as Nate walked through the threshold and smiled when he saw her. She did not miss when he raised an eyebrow at her round pregnant belly.

“It seems that you have something to share with me, beloved?” Nate asked smoothly.

"We knew you were on a mission, we couldn't have gotten a hold of you if we had wanted to, confidentiality and all that, but you had a job to focus on," Bruce informed him while Toni stood there waiting for his judgment.

“I see.” Nate said while watching Toni fidget next to Bruce and Clint.

“Hey, buddy! I see you are perfectly put together. Like always. Seriously man, how do you do it? You know, I bet if you were a woman, your boobs would even stay in place while you fight. You are that commanding.” Clint said trying to break the tense atmosphere.

“Clint.” Nate said with a cool look. “I’m not a woman so don’t even imagine what my breast would or would not do.”

“Yeah, Clint, those would be mine.” Toni said with a shaky smile.

"Exactly," Nate said, walking over to Toni and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, reassuring her without saying a word.

Toni smiled at him, suddenly much more relaxed, and leaned against him, until she felt something wet gathering around her feet and looked down. "Nate... Honey... I think we need to get to a hospital. Now. My water just broke," she said as she stared at the floor.

Nate picked her up, carrying her silently out the door and back to his car.

The others dropped everything they were doing as Steve stood and shouted, "Avengers assemble!"

Darcy raced to Toni and Nate's room and grabbed one of Toni's favorite band T-shirts and fresh jeans, before returning to the living room and gathering in Jane's car with everyone else, following Nate as he rushed Toni to the hospital.

After thirty-two hours of labor, Nate holding her hand every moment along the way, the doctor announced that a little girl had been born. Toni was thrilled, Nate had told her she could name the baby if it was a girl, and she knew exactly the name she wanted.

"Maria," she said, "Maria Natasha Romanoff Stark."

Her mother had meant a lot to her, even in the short amount of time she had been with her and her father.

Nate looked at her, knowing the origin of the name and Toni felt he deserved an explanation. “She may not have been the best mom in the world, but she did her best until the end and I loved her with every fiber of my being, and I know she loved me too.”

He nodded, accepting her reasoning easily as always.

Then the doctor made another announcement. "Ma'am, you're having twins."

Toni's eyes went wide at that and the shock brought out her dangerous-and-scary-woman-in-labor side that had been hidden so far. She started ranting and raving, and Nate ran his free hand through her hair, ignoring every word, until the baby was free and the umbilical cord was cut.

Toni looked at Nate when it was announced this child was a boy. He was naming this one. With a small smile Nate brushed his finger over the boy's cheek. “Pyotr Anthony Romanoff Stark.”

Once Toni was back in clothes she was comfortable in, courtesy of Darcy, the rest of the group met Maria and Pyotr, and Toni knew, without a doubt, that these children would have the most amazing family any kid could ask for. Her life was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> The name Pyotr is the Russian form of Peter, and I've always loved stories where Tony is Peter Parker's father (adopted or otherwise...) so this is minor wish fulfillment for me.
> 
> My friend U_Can_Tell_He_Is_Evil_By_The_Backwards_A (who is also the greatest beta ever) might eventually write a continuation of this story, in which case you will all find out about it and it'll be awesome. For now I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
